A variety of storage devices are available in today's marketplace. For instance, industrial storage cabinets may be used to store tools or other devices. In another example, storage cabinets may be used in offices to store various types of office supplies.
Storage cabinets may include a single or multiple doors, which are opened to gain entry to supplies within the storage cabinet. The doors themselves may often be locked to prevent unauthorized entry into the storage cabinet. Often, workers may want to place additional items in the cabinet. Since the worker is bringing additional items to the cabinet, he or she may be carrying these supplies in his or her arms. Thus, the worker may not be able to open the cabinet without placing the additional supplies aside or dropping the supplies in an attempt to open the doors.
Some supply cabinets include foot pedal arrangements whereby a worker, for example, may press the foot pedal and open the door. In this case, the worker would not need to place the materials being carried aside in order to open the doors of the cabinet. However, the drawback associated with these cabinets is that they can be opened only by using the foot pedal.
Thus, there is a need in the prior art for a storage cabinet having a latching mechanism that can be latched or unlatched by using either an upper actuator or a lower actuator.
There is a further need in the prior art for a storage cabinet that prevents damage to the latching mechanism under abusive conditions.